ITEM NO.
REPORT OF THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
TO CABINET MEETING
12th SEPTEMBER 2006
TITLE:
Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) Round Two Bid.
RECOMMENDATIONS: The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Members note the report. Approval
of the final LEGI bid is delegated to the Lead Member for Regeneration.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Salford and Manchester Councils are currently working together to produce a second round LEGI bid
for submission to Government on 14th September 2006. Government Office (GO) and the Regional
Development Agency (RDA) have provided feedback to the two Council’s on last year’s unsuccessful
joint bid, and the priority now is to work collaboratively to develop a coherent bid that builds upon the
commonalities of the two local authority areas. The bid is likely to be in the region of 20 to 25 million
but the detail of the bid proposal has not been finalised.
The LEGI bid will focus on addressing the barriers to enterprise in deprived areas and will include a
number of programmes designed to have maximum impact. The bid will have a strong private sector
steer in order to ensure that the proposed LEGI programme is relevant and achievable, and it will
clarify the private and the community and voluntary sector’s involvement in the development and
proposed delivery of the bid.
Because of the tight timescales involved in working up the bid, Members are requested to delegate
authority for approving the final LEGI bid to the Lead Member for Regeneration.
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: Lead Member Briefings June 2005; October 2005; January 2006.
CONTACT OFFICERS: Stuart Kitchen, Assistant Director of Economic Development 0161 793 3441
1.
Introduction
As Neighbourhood Renewal Fund areas, both Salford and Manchester are eligible to apply for LEGI
support, and they took the decision last year to bid jointly under the first LEGI round. This bid was
unsuccessful and the two Councils have decided once again to bid jointly, submitting an application
in round two of LEGI. The deadline for round two LEGI bids is 14th September 2006.
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Why bid jointly? All the evidence to date shows that that the two cities have common enterprise
needs and opportunities. Furthermore, there are a number of strategic reasons for bidding jointly:

Together Salford and Manchester make up the regional centre

Salford and Manchester have a joint Housing Market Renewal Programme which cuts across
some of the cities’ most deprived areas

Salford and Manchester have high levels of inward investment and communities that need better
connecting to this

Salford and Manchester have strong media centres, Granada and the BBC

Salford and Manchester have a concentration of Higher Education enterprise and spin out
activity.
A joint officers project group has been established to develop the bid comprising senior officers from
Manchester and Salford City Councils. Stuart Kitchen and Mike Shields are leading for Salford.
Government Office North West and the Regional Development Agency are providing support and
advice periodically throughout the process. In addition, both Council’s have the equivalent of six
days support from a Neighbourhood Renewal Adviser.
A private sector led advisory group has been established, whose remit in the short term is to oversee
the production of the LEGI bid.
The timetable for the bid process is:
National timetable
14 September
Deadline for submitting bids
23 October
Regional assessments and recommendations
submitted to DCLG and Government Offices
15/16 November
National Panel interview sessions with shortlisted bidders
Early/mid December
2.
Successful round 2 bids announced
About LEGI
LEGI was announced in the 2005 Budget as a joint programme between the Department for
Communities and Local Government (DCLG), Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) and the Department for
Trade and Industry (DTI). LEGI is worth £300m nationally over 3 years 2006/2007 to 2008/2009,
subject to national spending reviews.
The aim of LEGI is to release the economic potential of the most deprived communities by
encouraging enterprise and investment.
LEGI forms a key part of the Government’s enterprise
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agenda and locally, LEGI aims to build on key strategies for neighbourhood renewal. There are three
national LEGI outcomes which local authorities must use as the basis of their bids for funding:
i)
To increase total entrepreneurial activity among the population in deprived local areas;
ii) To support the sustainable growth – and reduce the failure rate – of locally-owned
business in deprived areas; and
iii) To attract appropriate inward investment and franchising into deprived areas, making use
of local labour resources.
LEGI bidding is a competitive bidding process. There are three bidding rounds planned. The first
round bidding started in September 2005 and in February 2006, a total of £126m was awarded under
the first round to ten successful bids, involving fifteen local authorities.
LEGI round two got
underway in May 2006 and the deadline for applications is 14th September 2006.
There are
potentially seventy-four other LEGI bids in the process of development for submission in round two.
The Salford/Manchester bid will need to demonstrate robustness in the following areas:

It will need to focus on the areas of commonality between Salford and Manchester. It should be
one coherent bid – not two bids stitched together. It should be focused and should avoid trying to
be all things to all people.

It will need to set out a strong case for receiving LEGI support, the solutions should be linked to
evidence and need. Consultants have been engaged to help with building and analysing the
evidence base.

It will need to focus and impact upon deprived areas and key client groups. It should provide
Government with confidence that there will be effective and targeted marketing, and take up of
LEGI programmes from those people that would most benefit from LEGI support.

The bid Partnership should be strong and should include the private sector. The bid should
clarify how both the private sector and the community and voluntary sector will be involved in the
delivery of LEGI.

The bid must be linked to and add value to existing regional and local enterprise and regeneration
strategies, and particularly mainstream business support services such as Business Link. It must
not duplicate current provision or undermine the RDA’s Business simplification agenda.

The bid should be ambitious and should set out proposals for achieving change over a ten-year
period. Government want to see a transformational change in deprived areas and a narrowing of
the gap between these areas and the best performing areas of the country. The bid will need to
promote sustainability and include mainstreaming as a key objective. It will also need to
demonstrate leverage and private sector investment both during and after the 3-year funding
period.

The bid must set out proposals for continuous programme evaluation, evidence building and
performance management.
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3.
Current Progress
A significant amount of work has been done gathering and analysing the evidence base, consulting
with key stakeholders and reviewing enterprise policy and delivery. The joint Officer project team is
now developing the detail of the LEGI programme and completing the LEGI bid application. The draft
LEGI programme will be shared with the LEGI Advisory Group on 21st August and with
representatives from the wider private sector, with the community and voluntary sector, and with key
agencies. A draft bid will be produced for 1st September and circulated to the LEGI Advisory Group,
the Lead Member for Regeneration, key Council Officers and key agencies, for their comments and
feedback. The LEGI Advisory group will meet on 4th September and will discuss and agree any final
changes to the bid.
4.
Summary
Salford and Manchester Council’s are now working together to produce a second round LEGI bid.
The deadline for submission of the bid is 14th September 2006. The bid is expected to be in the
region of 20 to 25 million and will set out programme of interventions to address the key issues and
barriers that prevent deprived communities from participating in enterprise. The bid will have a
strong private sector steer in order to ensure that the proposed LEGI programme is relevant and
achievable, and it will clarify the private and the community and voluntary sector’s involvement in the
development and delivery of the bid.
Because of the tight timescales for working up the bid, Members are requested to delegate authority
for approving the final LEGI bid to the Lead Member for Regeneration.
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